Regional focus/area studies

The Heaven and Earth Society as popular religion

Article Abstract:

The religious element central to the organization of the early Heaven and Earth Society (Tiandihui) have been obscured in the hostile accounts by the mainstream system that found it subversive. However, the religious element is an integral part of the Tiandihui and its promise of supernatural powers is what attracted membership. Documented accounts of initiation rites by Tiandihui members and initiators in western Fujian and eastern Jianxi in early 19th century attest to this.

The "Treasury of Laughs" is an anthology of 700 jokes that takes a look at the lives of the common people in Ming China. Hyperbolic in tone, the jokes can be either romantic or satirical. The humor covers unqualified officials, pseudoscholars, follies in government, appearances, practices, and ideals. Social ailments and human folly are exposed to let the audience take a stand on certain issues. As such, the book not only entertains but also aims to make readers reflect.

Huineng, Subhuti, and monkey's religion in Xiyou ji

Article Abstract:

A study attempts to resolve the issue of religion in the sixteenth-century novel Xiyou ji (The Journey to the West) by moving beyond the Taoist exegetical tradition to define the specific theory of internal alchemy that motivates its action and characters. It is demonstrated how the Taoist paradigm thus defined indeed exists in a pattern, an organizing principle behind the text, and a context in which the numerous religious references and allusions all fall into place.